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MARRIAGE MISERY I

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MARRIAGE MISERY I Divorce in County Courts SOLICITOR AND SEPARATION A number of county-court registrars gave evidence on Wednesday before th r:7,r17, Com/mission on Divorce, Lord Gorell, chair- man, presiding. I The first of these was Mr. C. H. Pickstone, coanity-conrt registrar at Bury. He had held tha.t position for twelve years, he said, and "had devoted considerable attention to the Question of divorce. In advocating the exten- sion of divorce jurisdiction to the oounty- court. Ins object was not to increase the faoilities for divorce, but to brinjj within the reach of the poorer classes a remedy which the wealthier classes were enabled to obtain in the Divorce Court in London. The hearing of divorce suits locally would most materially reduce the cost to the applicants and, at the same time, expedite procedure. For instance, a forma pauperis case from Lan- cashire cost about 127 out-of-pocket expenses and E10 solicitor's charges. The same case heard in the local county-court he estimated could be done for Xlo if there were no court fees Lord Corel): Do von think there would be much ?oltusio? if jurisdiction were extended t' county-courts?—I do not think there would be practically any among tha indus- trious. hard-working communities of Lan- cashire and Yorkshire. It is amongst the leisured classes that collusion is more likely to be found. His experience with regard to separation orders was that the great majority of cruelty cases occurred when the husband was in drink. He wa.s in favour of magis- trates being empowered to make separation i orders for a limited time as well as per- manent orders. Lord Gorell: Do you think the regist-ars should act for the King's Proct.or ?-Hè cer- tainly has facilities for the work which no one else has. The witness said he would limit the jurisdiction cf the county-courts, empowering them to deal only with cases where the income of the parties did not exceed .t.3 per week. a.ud would leave power to remit oases to the High Court- BREACH OF PltOMISE ACTIONS. "I wonid like to see the Act abolished under which breach of promise of marriage actions are brought," continued the witness. "Numerous miserable marriages take place under the compulsion of a threatened breach of promi.-e action. It has a direct bearing on this question of divorce, for it leads to com- pulsory marriages, with consequent misery on both sides. Permanent separation orders almost necessarily lead to immorality." The witness, at the conclusion of his ex animation-in-chief, said he did not agree with the theory of the accidental casual sinner at all (Sir John Big-ham's view). and he would make the law api>ly to the man as it did to the woman. What was a moral and legal wrong on the part cf a woman was a moral and should be a legal wrong on the part of the man. The Archbishop of York: Have you ever heard of any formulated public demand on the part of Lancashire working-class men for th) extension of facilities for divorce ?—No, not any concerted public action, but I can say that this Commission has been hailed with great s&tif-eaction by the industrial classes Of Lancashire, because they recognise that it may have some practical outcome. He did not see how the appointment of divorce judges to go on circuit would meet the oass. They could not get tnrough the cases sitifi- teiently quickly, nor would they have the knowledge of local conditions which the county-court judges had. OOUNTY-COUBT JUBISDICTION. Mr. F. W. Dendy, registrar of the county- court of Nc^vcastle-on-Tyne for the eleven yearg, also favoured the extension of divorce jurisdiction to the county-courts, or, at any rate, to selected county-courts. In Northumberland, for instance, one court at Newcastle, the only large town in the corunty, would meet the case. Lord Gorell: Would that not present diffi- culties as regards travelling?-It is a ques- tion of 30 miles as against 300 to London. The cost of bringing parties end witnesses to Newcastle would be less than the cost of soli- citors and officials travelling to the small towns. The Workmen's Compensation Act, said the witness, had increased the work of the judges in the coTinty-courVs by 30 per cent. If the work of divorce was thrown on the courts in addition, the bulk cf the work would fail on the registrar and the clerical staff. It was possible that the judicial and general staffs would have to be increased if the courte had to undertake divorce work. Mr. J. A. Spender: On how many county- oourt-s would you confer divorce jurisdiction? —Roughly speaking, on one or two in a oounty. With regard to the poeition of the King's Proctor, he suggested that divorce oases being iheajxl in the county-courts should be watched by a representative of the chief-constable of the district. If the latter thought there wae anything irregular he could report to the King's Proctor, an4 subsequent action cooild be taken in the High Court in London. He further suggested that appeals should also be heard in the matrimonial division of the High Ooiirt. A COMPARISON OF COSTS. Mr. H. Cough, solicitor, Enfield, county- court registrar at Edmonton and justices'- clerk, said he thought it desirable that civil separation business should be transferred to the county-courts, which were e^Trerned only with civil cases. This would tend to unifor- mity of dealing with such cases. As things were at present, different etandards were set up by different justices, even in one division. The witness handed in a taxed bill of costs in a divorce suit which was heard in the High Court—a simple defended ca.se, he said, with seven witnesses and no tra-velling expenses. The total expenses were £86 7s. 10d. The same bill taxed on the existing inter- mediate scale of County-court costs amounted to C48 6e. 3d. If the procedure were simplified the costs would, of course, be still further reduced. Lord Gorell: What would be the maximum costs in a separation action in the police- conrt in a contested case?—There is no taxing and I cannot say. The whole thing, I think, could be done for 12s. The court fees a,re very small. The witness agreed with a suggestion of lord Gorell that when there was consider- able wrangling in court in a separation case the magistrates thought sometimes it was bett-er that the couple should be separated without weighing the evidence all a whole. The Commission then adjourned.

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